Children's Home run by Acorn Care (UK) Limited in Darlington

Inspection report children's home: SC390751 1 SC390751 Registered provider: Acorn Care (UK) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children with social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in place. A manager has been appointed and is due to commence the post in January 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 21 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/01/2020 Full Good 19/03/2019 Full Good 22/01/2018 Full Good 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe and are settled. They have good relationships with staff who listen to them and support them. Their wishes and feelings are important and are acted upon. This helps children feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are spacious and personalised. However, they are not always clean and tidy, and some items require repair. Such factors are important to a child’s sense of self-esteem and comfort.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress emotionally and their behaviours improve. One professional said that a child they work with has ‘made huge progress’, commenting that, ‘[Child’s name] is happy now rather than always sad.’ Children attend therapy and staff are supported on a weekly basis by a clinical psychologist. She provides staff with strategies and techniques for them to use for the benefit of the children. Children’s individual needs are catered for and items have been bought to help them to calm and self-regulate. This approach has led to a reduction in incidents and restraints.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children make good progress in education and for some this is significant. In one year, one child has caught up two academic years. A school professional said, [Child’s name] has already made more progress than they ever expected.’ When children are not attending school, staff are creative in trying to get them back into school. This prevents further lost learning opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their own care plans. The design is child friendly with vibrant colours, photos and references to their interests throughout. Children identify what is important to them, what they find difficult and how they might behave. This provides staff with a valuable insight into the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly undertake direct one-to-one work with the children. This is both planned and responsive to situations and incidents. However, not all such work is recorded properly. This is a missed opportunity for the children to reflect in their responses and recognise their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of family and friends is promoted. Contact is supported and facilitated. Children’s friends are welcomed into the home and taken on special activities. Children have memory boxes which contain mementos from their childhood and their time in the home. This promotes their sense of identity.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s individual risks are identified and rated within their risk assessments. However, not all significant incidents are detailed. This means that it is not always Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 4 clear why some risks are rated so highly. In addition, risk management strategies are not always up to date. This could result in children being given the wrong care.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour support plans provide staff with a greater level of detail. They make clear the triggers and de-escalation techniques which are specific to each child. Staff are given examples of what to say to each child depending on the situation. This means that children can be provided with a consistent approach which helps them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children, key workers and managers contribute to a six-monthly review completed by the clinical psychologist. This monitors and identifies children’s progress and results in recommendations and areas of need. This becomes the focus of work with children over the next six months and ensures that children continually receive care that reflects their needs and vulnerabilities.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff respond swiftly and proactively to risky behaviours. They inform relevant professionals and make referrals to appropriate services. Staff attend training to help them better understand the children, meet their needs and safeguard them. Recent training includes bereavement and self-harm. This ensures that staff have the skills they need to support children in crisis.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

While the children do not go missing from the home, there are individualised procedures in place for each child based on their vulnerabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has seen a high turnover of staff in recent months, including the departure of the registered manager. The deputy manager has, however, shown dedication and determination in maintaining the successful running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are recruited safely and to complement and enhance the existing staff team. The children benefit from working with staff who have a variety of experiences, skills and attributes. Staff benefit from a team which other professionals describe as ‘always going the extra mile’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive supervision sessions which are supportive of work and personal issues. They are given the opportunity to reflect and learn. Staff are praised for good work and challenged when improvements are required. Such an approach being offered following significant incidents, particularly restraints, would benefit staff further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The deputy manager has developed new monitoring systems which are purposeful and impactful. Children’s progress in all areas can be identified and action is taken where necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals value the communication, contribution and help from the deputy manager and staff team. An education professional commented, ‘The home is particularly good to work with.’ A professional from children’s social care said, ‘The home has been instrumental in helping me understand [child’s name] needs.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 5 The deputy manager ensures that regular consultation takes place with the children and in a variety of ways. However, this is not properly reflected in the six-monthly quality of care review. In addition, the review does not include feedback from consultation with staff, children’s families or professionals. Such feedback is instrumental in identifying any shortfalls or areas for development. Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b) (5)) 28 December 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and provides a homely, domestic environment. This is with specific reference to the cleanliness and tidiness of children’s bedrooms. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. In particular, the child’s risk assessment should contain all relevant information and risk management strategies for staff to follow. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable them and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint. This is with specific

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Recommendations

reference to debrief sessions for the child and staff member(s). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 7  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. This is with specific reference to ensuring that all one-to-one work is captured and recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Care (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 33 Kellaw Road, Yarm Road Business Park, Darlington, County Durham DL1 4YA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Julie-Ann Foxton

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Inspectors

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Ceri Evans, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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